sexta-feira, 12 de fevereiro de 2016

MOTHER WISDOM AND MADAM FOLLY

Out in the open Wisdom calls
aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square.

Proverbs 1:20

Folly
is an unruly woman;
she is simple and knows nothing.

Proverbs 9:13

(Read Proverbs 1.20-25: 9.13-18 – NIV

Wisdom in the
Book of Proverbs is given a feminine personality. Some translators lay hold of
the Greek word for "wisdom" and translate it as "Sofia", a
proper name. In Proverbs she speaks for herself:

“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds
of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came
to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no
springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or
any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the
clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea
its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked
out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. was filled
with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his
whole world and delighting in mankind.(Proverbs 8.22-31).

Mother Wisdom
presents herself not as a goddess but as the feminine presence in creation. God
was the father and she was the mother, the feminine face of the Creator. She
was the architect. Nothing was done without her presence. Her guidance built
lives, families, tribes and societies, strong and happy. Those who follow her
become sources of life and blessing, strengthening and continuing the work of
the Creator. Those who despise her go to destruction, taking others along with
them.

But Mother
Wisdom has a rival, Madam Folly who is attractive and has a seductive voice.
Her speech is contrary to that of Mother Wisdom. "Stolen water is better; stolen bread is
tastier" says
Madam Folly and justifies her arguments! She says that we live in a cruel world
and we do not know about tomorrow. Existence is a struggle for survival for all
of us. The smartest take the cake and fools get the leftovers. Happiness is
getting your piece at all costs and let others fend for themselves.

Madam Folly is
endangering the house that Mother Wisdom built. She no longer sits at the door
of her house and calls to those who are passing. She walks the streets,
creating visual pollution with posters and billboards, encouraging consumerism
and enters into homes and speaks enthusiastically through television sets and
the pages of magazines and newspapers. Her message is the attraction of physical
beauty and the glory of brand names. She says that happiness is to be elegant
and have prestige and wealth. Ethical and moral factors are ignored when convenient.
TO HAVE has more value than TO BE. She is saturating our culture.

The compulsion
to possess power and things is leading us to the exploitation of each other and
all of creation. The followers of the philosophy of Madam Folly are depleting
human and natural resources and polluting the soil, air and water. Forests are
disappearing from the earth and the fish disappearing from the sea. This house,
our home, that Mother Wisdom built, is being demolished before our eyes.

The voice of
Mother Wisdom needs to abandon the temples and go to the streets and squares! It
needs to go to all places where people gather and to shout loudly denouncing
the folly of our materialism and selfishness that is driving the world to
destruction. Mother Wisdom has no voice but our voice. Do we have the luxury of
silence?